We were part of something magical that took place back on Sunday 13 March 2016… WOW! Women of the World was a festival that transformed the Southbank Centre into a space buzzing with creativity, conversation and female empowerment.
Our editor Alice Snape was there with photographer Eleni, who runs the wonderful Women with Tattoos blog, to chat to women about their tattoos. Here’s a glimpse of some of the inspiring women we chatted to…
Hazel
“I was just 16 when I got an arrow on my ribs. The more tattoos I get, the more comfortable I feel in my body. It is mine and I have chosen the way it looks.”
Carey
“I was 59 when I got my first tattoo. My daughter found Grace Neutral and I knew I had to collaborate with her. I see getting tattooed by her as a collaboration. She draws the designs on with a Sharpie and then tattoos over it. I find it a very interesting approach. I feel better about my body now than I ever have before. I love it because it is art.”
Aisling
“I got my first tattoo at 24. It’s a feminist tattoo as a tribute to the women in my life. I’m very aware of women’s representation in the media, so I would never get traditional pin-up imagery tattooed on me. I wanted to be marked for life with something that has meaning to me.”
Sian
“I was just 15 when I first got tattooed; it was on my hip. Since then, it’s been reworked by Woody at Into You, so I love it even more now. I find that women with tattoos are often fetishised. I get comments in the street and people ask me questions. I have a whole list of tattoo plans – they make me feel great about my body. I love my body anyway, but they make me feel even better about it.”
Ella
“I was 17 when I got a lizard tattoo. The first was a big deal for me, it is self marking and controlling the way I look. We are already marked by so many things. Tattoos are a commemoration of something, somewhere, someone…”
You can view the full collection of images and quotes on the Women with Tattoos blog: part 1 and part 2.